by C. J. Archer
"If your medicines work then you have no need to worry, do you?"
I was about to say more but bit down on my tongue. She would never admit to lying and gossiping about me. I was wasting my time.
I stepped across the threshold but left one foot inside so she couldn't shut the door all the way. "If you believed your own words, you wouldn't be wanting Mother’s Milk, would you?" I said, forcing a smile. "I wonder what everyone would think of your skills as an apothecary when they hear that you're desperate for my recipe?"
I marched up the street and didn't look back. The sensation of her gaze burning a hole in my back didn't fade until I reached home.
Protests against clearing The Row were held again that night, but I remained at home with Dora and Remy. The following morning, Meg told us the protest hadn't been altogether peaceful. Ned Perkin had finally picked a side, and it wasn't the side that favored the Vytill migrants.
"He wants the clearances to go ahead," Meg said. She spoke to me from the front doorstep, having refused to come in. She was supposed to go straight home from the market. "Ned says it'll force The Row's Vytill faction to leave Mull because they won't want to live on the street and no landlord would rent a house to them."
"What did everyone think of that?" I asked.
"Many agreed with him."
"No doubt Ivor was one of them."
"He was right by Ned's side."
I glanced over my shoulder toward the kitchen, where Dora and Remy were practicing their reading together. "And what about the other residents in The Row? Did anyone speak for them? Did anyone question what will happen to them after their homes are destroyed?"
"Lyle said some did." She hoisted her basket higher and rested it on her hip. "That's when the scuffles broke out. Ned didn't like anyone disagreeing with him. He threw the first punch."
Ned Perkin had always wanted things his way and never liked being challenged. His answers often involved fists, always arguing, and never reasonable discussion. "Was anyone badly hurt?"
"Two had minor cuts. It could have been worse, but the captain broke up the fight."
"He has men here still?"
"Not many, and those patrol The Row at night. I mean the captain himself broke it up. He was there with the sheriff, overseeing the protest. It seems the sheriff thought it would be a peaceful protest again and took the opportunity of the guards patrolling to send his men home for some much-needed rest."
"Did the captain get hurt?"
Her slow smile turned wicked. "He might have. Perhaps you ought to check on him. I'm sure he'd like your attention."
"I'll agree to see the captain if you come to the palace with me to see the sergeant."
That wiped the smile from her face. "I'd better go home. Mama is waiting for these pathetic vegetables." She lifted the cloth on her basket to show me the wilted lettuces and shriveled potatoes. "There was no meat, chicken or fish left that we could afford, so it's broth for dinner again. Have you got enough, Josie?" She glanced past me then leaned closer. "Can you afford to keep your guests much longer?"
"We're fine, Meg. Don't worry. I have eggs, and Dora is a marvel at making things last." It was a lie, but I couldn't let Meg worry. She would only tell her mother, who would then insist on feeding us—something the Divers couldn't afford to do.
Meg sighed. "One day, this will all settle down and there'll be balance and order in Mull again. There'll be enough work for everyone who wants it when the docks have finished expanding and the harbor is dredged. Food will be imported in greater quantities, bringing the prices down, and of course more houses will be built. It's only a matter of time."
I shared her optimism. I truly did. But I suspected we would disagree on how long it would take. She thought it would be a matter of weeks, months at the most, but I suspected it would take years before equilibrium was restored to Mull. One thing we both agreed on—our sleepy village was gone forever.
I spent the afternoon trying not to think about visiting the palace to check on Dane. Meg had planted the seed in my head, and by the end of the day, it had grown roots and flourished. I did not succumb to my need, however, and was rather pleased with myself for being strong.
Lyle knocked on the door just as dusk began to settle. Like his sister, he also didn't cross the threshold. "I just got home from work," he said. "Meg told me to come here and tell you what I just told her before we sit down to dinner."
"Oh?"
"The crier has just announced that The Row won't be cleared. Governor's orders. They've backed down."
"What will be done about the area instead?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Looks like you got what you wanted."
"Affordable and decent housing for the poor is what I wanted. Doing nothing is only a slight improvement on the clearance idea."
It was a victory, I supposed, although it didn't feel like one. The Row still harbored criminals, the factions within it still fought for control, the poor still went hungry, and the houses still looked like they'd fall down in a strong breeze. But at least those houses offered shelter.
"Thank you, Lyle. Go home and enjoy your dinner."
He cleared his throat and a rather strange look came over his face. I realized what it meant too late, and couldn't stop him. "Do you want to go for a walk with me?" he asked. "Just a quiet walk with a good friend, nothing more."
Nothing more? I failed to see how an unwed man and woman walking aimlessly around the village could be viewed as anything other than the first stages of courtship, but I didn't say so. Lyle was like family, and deserved to be let down gently. I scrambled to think of an excuse that wouldn't offend or hurt him.
"Thank you, but I think it's best if I stay home at night."
"No one will dare harm you if you're with me."
Meg's brother wasn't a big man and certainly not a fighter. Walking with him was no guarantee of safety. "I think I'll just stay home," I said. "Thanks anyway."
He nodded grimly and walked off. He hadn't got far when he suddenly stopped and turned back to me. "You shouldn't be so choosy, Josie."
"Don't, Lyle," I said on a sigh.
My plea might as well have fallen on deaf ears. "Meg says you're half in love with the captain of the guards, but you mark my words, he's not for you. You're a nice village girl." He swallowed, and I got the impression he'd swallowed his next words altogether.
I cocked my head to the side. "And he is what?" I prompted.
He squared his shoulders. "They call him Hammer. Doesn't that tell you all you have to know about him?"
"No, as it happens. And how do you know that's not his real name?"
He grunted. "Don't be a naive child, Josie. You're smarter than that."
I didn't wait to see him enter his house but I heard the door slam. I hoped he didn't tell his parents that I'd rejected him. Mistress Diver was like an aunt to me, and I didn't want to upset her. She wouldn't understand why I'd turned down her son.
Meg would, though. She knew I couldn't see her brother as a suitor.
It was dark when the knock I'd been expecting ever since Lyle stormed off sounded on my front door. Dora didn't want me to answer it, that late in the evening, but I suspected it would be Mistress Diver, come to ask me to reconsider Lyle's offer of a walk. If not her then one of my patients' husbands.
It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light outside. The moon had slipped behind the clouds and my candle did nothing to push back the darkness. Whoever it was must be wearing black, because he was little more than a shadow. A horse snuffled and I could just make out its silhouette near the bollard.
"Captain?" I said.
A tall figure stepped in front of me, very close, and I lost my balance. An arm reached out and circled me around the waist, drawing me close.
It wasn't Dane. His smell, the rhythm of his breathing, his size, were all wrong. I held my candle higher and gasped.
Lord Xavier stared down at me. When I tried to move away, he grabbed my backside
with both hands and crushed his body against mine. His cock protruded through the layers of clothing and his hot breath moistened my cheek.
Then he kissed me.
Chapter 9
I pushed at Lord Xavier and smacked his chest, his shoulders. But that only made him tighten his hold and press his lips harder to mine. I jerked my head to the side, breaking the kiss, if that's what the mashing of our mouths could be called.
"Let me go!" I spat.
He chuckled low in his throat. "My, my, aren't you the fierce little—"
"Josie?"
I almost cried with relief when Lord Xavier let me go at the sound of Dora's voice.
"Who're you?" he barked.
Dora shrank back into the kitchen, her eyes huge with fear. Remy tucked himself against her side, and she clutched him to her.
"Dora and Remy are my friends," I told Lord Xavier. "They're staying with me."
His tongue flicked over his lower lip as he regarded her.
"Please leave," I said, opening the door wide.
He chuckled again, but it didn't have the cockiness of earlier. "You liked it, Josie," he whispered. "I could feel how rapidly your heart beat."
"That was fear."
He licked his lips again as he straightened. "You can protest all you want, but I know the difference between desire and fear."
I leveled my gaze with his. "I've asked you to leave. Please do so."
"Or you'll do what? Scream?" He grunted. "The sheriff's men won't touch me."
"But the king's men will."
He chuckled again. This time I was very sure it was all showy bravado. "I came here to congratulate you," he said. "You won. The governor has bowed to your wishes and won't go ahead with clearing The Row."
I said nothing. Telling him that I wanted the residents of The Row to be given proper, affordable housing would only invite him to engage in conversation. I wanted him to leave as soon as possible.
"Well done, Josie." The sinister thread through his voice shredded my nerves. "Your words the other night made the villagers change their minds. But it also made you a very powerful enemy. My mother is furious."
"Your mother had decided before that night that she didn't like me."
His gaze searched mine. I forced myself not to look away. "The funny thing is, she would like you if you weren't so common. You have a lot of the qualities she admires. As do I."
His gloved finger stroked my cheek to my jaw and his hungry gaze followed it. I pulled away and he grasped my breast. I slapped him. He pushed me.
I fell against the table by the door, knocking off the candlestick I'd set down. The flame went out. Dora gasped and rushed to my aid.
"Oi!" Remy shouted as he charged forward. "Don't hit ladies!"
Dora grabbed his hand to keep him back, but Lord Xavier was already striding through the door. I lurched to my knees and slammed it shut. Dora slid the bolt across then sank to the floor beside me. We clasped each other's hands.
Remy remained standing, the light from the kitchen behind him casting his face in shadow. "I don't like him."
"Stay away from him, Remy," I said. "Him and his family."
"Go and put some tea leaves in the pot." Dora's voice trembled but she managed a reassuring smile for her son. "Good boy."
Neither she nor I stood. Her legs must feel as weak as mine.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yes." I reached for the candle and stood to light it. "Thank you, Dora. I don't know what he would have done if you weren't here."
"Don't think about it."
Easier to say than to do.
"He's a Deerhorn, isn't he?" she asked.
"Lord Xavier, the eldest."
"I've seen him," she said. "He goes to one of the girls in The Row."
"I thought he used the maids for that."
"This woman has a particular reputation. She accepts it rougher than the others."
The man was vile, yet he and his mother had the gall to suggest the people in The Row were the revolting kind. Thank the god and goddess for Dora's presence tonight. Now that Lord Xavier knew I no longer lived alone, he wouldn't try that again. Not here.
I hoped.
When a message came for me the following morning, summoning me to the palace, I jumped at the chance to go. I was restless at home with nothing to do, and the shadow of Lord Xavier's visit hung over me. I needed to get out. Besides, I was curious as to why Dane wanted to see me. The message hadn't offered a reason.
I hitched a ride on the back of a cart heading in the direction of the palace, but it wasn't until I was almost there that I began to worry. There'd been no name attached to the note. The only person who would summon me to the palace but not write his name would be Lord Barborough. He'd given me two days to find the gem, and those two days were up.
I jumped off the cart and headed to the stables, where I asked a groom to escort me all the way to the gate. From there, I spotted Erik on patrol and asked him to walk with me to the garrison.
"You are here because king is ill?" he asked as we walked.
I scanned the faces of the passing nobles and squinted into the shadows, but could not see Barborough."I don't know why I'm here," I said. "Is he feeling unwell?"
"Aye. Theodore is worried. Hammer is happy because he does not have to go with him for rides or walks all the time."
He pushed open the door to the garrison. Inside, Quentin sat at the table, a book open in front of him. Another guard sat too, his arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed.
He opened his eyes and sat up straighter. "A drink, Josie?"
"No, thanks. Do you know if the captain will be back soon?"
"Nope. Sorry." He poured himself an ale and drank the entire cup before replenishing it.
Quentin pulled out the chair beside him. "Come and help me, Josie. I don't understand this bit."
He was reading the medical book I'd given him some time ago, and the page was open to skin conditions. "Is this what Erik had?" He pointed to a drawing of a lump on the back of a hand.
"It's similar but his was specific to the genital area. You'll find it under the section on male genitalia and its diseases."
The other guard made a gagging sound. "That's disgusting."
"Did Erik show it to you?" I asked Quentin.
Quentin flushed. "He offered."
"He asked," Erik countered.
"I did not! I said I'd like to learn more about doctoring, and he took his clothes off. Right in this room."
"It's true," the other guard said. "I saw it. I didn't touch it, like some." He flashed a grin at Quentin.
Quentin's face flushed even brighter. "I, er, needed to maneuver it so I could see the lump."
"His hands are rough," Erik said. "Not as rough as mine or some of the maids, but it was not pleasing to me."
"Some of the maids have callused hands too?" I asked.
"Aye," Quentin said, sounding glad to move the conversation in a different direction. He showed me his palms and the old, hardened calluses. He didn't have as many as Dane. "They're not as bad as they used to be. My hands had cuts and sores at first. So did almost everyone else."
"Even the women," the guard said.
"Not Balthazar," Erik said. "And not all the maids."
It wasn't something I'd given much thought to, before now. I wondered what it meant about their pasts. As with other characteristics, it wasn't universal for all the servants.
Erik turned to leave just as the external door opened and Brant strode through. He paused upon seeing me then cast a glance at the other guard. His gaze finally settled on Quentin. Quentin tensed.
"Milo," Erik said to the guard, "take over on patrol from me."
"I just got off duty," Milo whined.
"I will do your next duty."
Brant removed his sword belt and hung it up before pouring himself a cup of ale. "He wants to stay here and protect Hammer's two pets personally. Seems I can't be trusted around them." He dran
k the entire contents and refilled the cup. "Go on, Milo. Off you go. That's an order."
Milo strapped his sword belt around his waist and headed out, but not without shooting a glare at Brant.
Brant pulled out the chair beside me and sat. He could have chosen one of a dozen other chairs, but it seemed he wanted to torment both Quentin and me.
He reached across me and grabbed the book then tossed it on the floor. "This ain't going to teach you to be a better guard."
Quentin got up and went to fetch the book, but Brant beat him to it, pressing his foot on the cover, close to Quentin's fingers. He smirked down at the smaller, younger man.
"Get off it," Quentin said. "It's Josie's, and you're damaging it."
"Make me." When Quentin didn't move, Brant said, "Go on. Try and knock me off. You've got to learn to beat a bigger man. You've got to learn a lot of things."
Quentin's fingers recoiled and he swallowed heavily.
I stood and held out my hand. "And you have to learn that taunting a smaller man doesn't impress anyone. Give me the book, please."
Brant snorted. "You think I'm trying to impress you? The captain's whore?"
A flash out of the corner of my eye warned me to step back. I got out of the way just as Erik flung himself at Brant. They fell to the floor together, somehow neither injuring themselves enough to stop them throwing punches.
Erik's longer reach helped him, but Brant was bullishly strong and withstood the pounding. Bleeding from the nose, he grabbed Erik's hair and wrestled him off.
Quentin scrambled away, and I thought he was going to fetch other guards, but he grabbed one of the swords by the door and clutched it in both hands.
"Stop!" he shouted, hovering too far away from the two fighting men to strike. "Stop, Brant, or I'll strike!"
Brant sat on Erik's chest and grasped the front of his doublet. Erik reached up and wrapped his long fingers around Brant's throat, but it didn't affect the sergeant. He pulled his fist back and punched Erik in the jaw. The back of Erik's head slammed against the flagstones and his eyes rolled up into his head. Brant wound up for another punch.
"You're going to kill him!" I cried.
